Independent supplier guideUS storefront · prices in US$Buying watercolour supplies from Blick Art Materials
Blick carries the watercolour ranges painters ask for by name, from Daniel Smith and Schmincke paint to Arches and Saunders Waterford paper and Princeton brushes, alongside student sets and practice pads. This guide shows where to start in each department, with the picks from our guides.
Paint · artist and student ranges
Paper · cold press, hot press, rough
Brushes · rounds by head sizeProduct photography: Blick Art MaterialsOur verdict
For most US watercolour painters, Blick is where we’d start. It lists the picks from our guides, and its product pages carry the detail that decides a purchase: pigment codes on the paint pages we checked, paper weight in pounds and grams, and brush heads measured in millimetres.
Read the full verdict
It lists the picks from our guides, and its product pages carry the detail that decides a purchase: pigment codes on the paint pages we checked, paper weight in pounds and grams, and brush heads measured in millimetres. Where it’s weaker is browsing: the departments can’t be filtered by pigment or brush shape, so it pays to arrive with a shortlist. The sections below give you one, with the variant to select.
Good for
- Restocking materials you know
- Choosing by specification
- Buying paint, paper and brushes together
Before you order
- Select the exact set, surface or brush shape
- Account for large-sheet handling and shipping
As published by Blick on 30 October 2026. Details below.
Paint
Watercolour paint: artist ranges and first sets
Blick stocks the artist ranges painters ask for by name: Daniel Smith Extra Fine, Schmincke Horadam, Winsor & Newton Professional, Holbein, M. Graham and Sennelier, in tubes, half pans and sets. Cotman and Van Gogh cover student paint, with Blick’s own Utrecht tubes alongside.
Building an artist palette
Buy single tubes or pans from one range rather than a large set: you choose the pigments, and you can replace colours one at a time. Filter the department by professional grade, then open the range.
Starting with a set
A compact student set, such as the Cotman pocket set below, is the simpler first purchase. Several Cotman sets share one listing, so check the name and the number of pans.
Choosing a colour
- Choose by pigment, not colour name. On the paint pages we checked, “Show Pigment Information” gives each colour’s pigment code.
- Lightfastness ratings are on the maker’s colour chart, not Blick’s page.
From our buying guides
A first paint set
Winsor & Newton Cotman Sketcher’s Pocket Set
12 half pans · student grade · pocket box
First choice in our beginner set guide, where it appears under its UK name, the Sketchers’ Pocket Box. The listing holds several Cotman sets with different contents. Select “Sketcher’s Pocket Set of 12”.
Paper
Watercolour paper: surface, weight and format
The papers in our guides are all here: Bockingford for practice, Saunders Waterford and Arches in cotton, alongside Fabriano, Hahnemühle, Canson and Strathmore, as pads, blocks and full sheets. Blick’s own papers are listed too; we haven’t assessed them.
Buying full sheets?Fewer than ten sheets larger than 18 × 24 inches attract the checked US$3 handling fee.Ordering details
Reading the labels
- 140 lb is the 300gsm weight our guides use.
- “Cold Press” is the surface UK guides call Not. Hot Press is smooth; Rough is the most textured.
Pads, blocks or sheets
Pads and blocks suit practice and travel. Full 22 × 30 in sheets suit larger work or cutting down, but an order with fewer than ten large sheets carries a US$3 fee.
Selecting the variant
Surface, weight, size and pack are chosen inside each listing, so the first price shown may not be the paper you want. Check all four before you add it to your basket.
From our buying guides
Paper for regular practice
Bockingford gluebound pad
140 lb · 300gsm · cold press · wood pulp
The practice paper in our beginner paper guide. Hot Press pads share the listing. Select Cold Press.
From our buying guides
The cotton upgrade
Saunders Waterford sheets
140 lb · 300gsm · cold press · 100% cotton
The cotton upgrade in our beginner paper guide. Weights, surfaces and two whites share one listing. Choose each deliberately.
From our buying guides
A premium cotton sheet
Arches Natural White
140 lb · 300gsm · cold press · 22 × 30 in
A premium option from our paper guides, not an essential beginner upgrade. Full sheets below ten per order add the large-sheet fee.
Brushes
Watercolour brushes: choosing a round
Princeton, Da Vinci, Escoda, Silver Brush and Raphael are all listed, in synthetic and natural hair, with Blick’s own brushes alongside. For most painters the decision is a round: which fibre, and which size.
Comparing sizes
Size numbers don’t compare across ranges. On the Aqua Elite listings we checked, each size gives head width and length in millimetres: compare those instead.
Finding the shape
The department filters by fibre but not by shape, and children’s brushes share it. Open a named range, then select Round before the size.
From our buying guides
A general watercolour round
Princeton Aqua Elite round
Series 4850 · synthetic · sizes 5/0–20
The general round in our brush comparison. Princeton rates it firmer than Neptune. Select Round, then compare the head dimensions listed for each size.
From our buying guides
A softer round for washes
Princeton Neptune round
Series 4750 · synthetic squirrel
The softer wash round in our comparison, based on Princeton’s stated purpose and stiffness scale. The range covers several shapes. Select Round.
Ordering
Blick shipping, store pickup and returns
The conditions that change what a US order costs or when it arrives, as Blick published them on 30 October 2026. Check them again at checkout.
Shipping
US$89
free standard shipping to the 48 contiguous states
- Below US$89
- US$9.95, FedEx Ground
- Timing
- Ships in 1–2 business days; arrives in 2–7 (Blick’s estimate)
- Alaska, Hawaii, territories
- Freight quote before shipping
- Outside the US
- Quoted shipping; import charges are extra
- Sales tax
- Added at checkout for most states
Large sheets
US$3
per order with fewer than ten sheets larger than 18 × 24 in
- Counts towards ten
- Different papers and boards can be mixed
- No fee
- Blocks, pads and smaller sheets
- Packing
- Shipped flat; Blick notes that corners are the exposed point
Store pickup
US$35
minimum order, at 72 stores in 25 states and Washington, D.C.
- Make a Store Pickup List for your store
- Send it; staff confirm stock, price and a time
- Collect in store, with ID
- Not a reservation
- Wait for the store’s confirmation before travelling
- Prices
- Store and online prices can differ
Returns
1 year
for a refund or replacement of the merchandise value
- Return postage
- Usually your cost
- Faster processing
- Within 30 days, resaleable, in the original packaging
- Damage or a wrong item
- Report it promptly (see the note below)
| Order | Fee | Worth knowing |
|---|---|---|
| 3 full sheets, 22 × 30 in | US$3 | Include the fee when comparing delivered totals |
| 10 mixed full sheets | None | Only worth it if you’ll use them; avoiding a fee isn’t a saving |
| A 9 × 12 in block or pad | None | A different format; compare usable area as well as price |
Two deadlines that disagree
Blick’s shipping page asks for shortages to be reported within 10 days; its returns page says 30. Count the parcels and open the boxes on the day they arrive.
Questions about buying from Blick
Is “% off list” at Blick a sale price?
Usually not. By Blick’s own explanation, the price shown against list is normally its everyday price. Compare delivered totals, not percentages.
Does Blick price match?
For an identical item at a major qualifying competitor, Blick matches on phone orders placed at the time of ordering, not on past purchases. On 30 October 2026 it said matching was suspended for tariff-affected products.
Are Blick and Utrecht the same company?
Blick’s pricing policy names Utrecht as one of its own brands, and Utrecht’s site lists Blick-brand paper. This guide covers Blick’s own storefront only.
Do Blick store prices match online prices?
Not always: Blick says they can differ. For Store Pickup, wait for the store to confirm price and stock before you travel.
How we checked
A website and policy assessment, checked on 30 October 2026 on desktop and phone. We haven’t ordered from Blick or contacted its customer service; if we do, this guide will say so.
Explore your other options
Explore Blick’s watercolour range
Blick lists the picks from our guides with the detail to check them before you pay.
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US storefront · prices in US$Visit Blick (opens Blick’s website)